Isn't That My Shirt
by pigwiz
Summary: Well, what if it is...
1. In The Beginning

**Isn't that my shirt?**

Chapter 1: It happened

* * *

After verbal abuse, wars really… beatings and ridicule, it happened.

Place: The Shay apartment

Time: 11:57 PM December 31st

A New Years Party thrown by the Shay's resulted in something that had been discussed in secluded groups of classmates for some time. Normally, just after the subject was broached, eye rolls and chuckles would erupt. Regardless of the outlandishness, and seemingly pure folly of the action, it did happen.

Just before midnight on this insane evening, Samantha Puckett acted on a whim, (aided by a bit of liquid courage she had found in a bottle of Smirnoff's), and asked her friend Freddie to dance.

A slow dance.

His jaw dropped slightly at her request, but then his expression changed to… joy.

"Yeah, I'd like that…" He replied.

Halfway through the song he stopped swaying to the music, and then she did as well. She looked at him and seemed very confused. He looked into her eyes, grinned and moved his head so he could whisper in her ear…

"You're gonna kill me in a minute…"

He moved his head back, looked her in the eye again, saw even more confusion, moved even closer, and kissed her.

After nearly a minute, he pulled away, slowly. Both of them were ignoring the stares, the quiet. The song had been over for a bit. He looked at her again, smirked and asked:

"Well, am I a dead man?"

She looked back at him with a contemplative grin and replied:

"Maybe… maybe you are. But I know you will be if you don't do that again, right now, and do it properly…"

They were seniors in High School that year, and by graduation night they were a solid couple. Freddie made a number of changes to his life plans to be able to accommodate his girl friend. He had been accepted into a number of out of state schools, but ended up going to the local university. Sam went to the local community college for a while, then quit completely. She had gotten a job with the USDA as a meat inspector, (the job title had made her the brunt of a few off color jokes from some of her friends) and Freddie was an intern with an up and coming computer imaging firm.

It was all good…

After Freddie's graduation from college he was picked up by the firm he had interned with. Sam had been promoted to supervisor. They took the next life changing leap… they moved in to an apartment, together. Unwed, but… that had been discussed in an off hand round a bout fashion.

After about a year of this, Freddie walked into their shared abode to discover Sam in a giddy, nearly frilly mood. She had even cooked him dinner, his favorite, a thick juicy steak. He didn't make a comment about 'the mood' at first. Frankly, he didn't know what to say. Their shared lives hadn't been any different from any other couples. A few minor fights about minor stuff, but nothing important really. Any relationship has its ups and downs. This was looking like it may be one of the 'ups'. He was at a complete loss. Finally Sam smiled at him, a warm, genuine smile. He smiled back, and asked…

"What?"

"So, um… I found something today…" She grinned as she said it.

"What?" He asked.

"Oh, something… something important…" She was still grinning as she said this.

"What?" he continued asking, nearly laughing.

"Well, I finally decided to put your clean socks away. You know the ones you've ignored for the last week and left them lying on top of the chest of drawers… and what do you think I found in your sock drawer?" She said pulling the ring box out from where she had hid it under the table.

Freddie blushed, smiled, and blushed even more.

"Oh…" he said. "So did you look in the box?" He asked.

She said no, but nodded her head, yes while smiling even more than before.

"So…" He stammered.

She attacked him with kisses… he never did get to finish that steak, but… he didn't really care.

All that happened on a Wednesday. They both took off the following Monday, and got married by the County Clerk. Just the two of them, alone. They wanted it that way. No huge ceremony, no massive parties, just them. They used a stranger, a building contractor who just happened to be in the building as their witness.

They didn't advertise, but of course by Tuesday, everyone knew. The news was unexpected, but not surprising.

Married life suited them. Children were planned, but not until after they had purchased a house. Both of them growing up in rented homes had soured them on that. They wanted their children to have the added security of a house, to call home.

Small bits of time slipped by, a one year anniversary, then two… Soon it was close to three. They had been frugal, their third anniversary gift to one another would be a home of their own, albeit small, but theirs. They found a place they both loved and that was affordable, bought it and celebrated their third wedding anniversary with a combined house warming and anniversary party.

While all this had been happening, Carly hadn't fallen from the face of the earth. After High School she had attended college in Portland Oregon and had become a radiologic technologist. While there she had met Tom, who was enrolled in the officer training program for the US Coast Guard at the same school. They were married after her graduation and now lived in Bellingham. About two hours north of Seattle. The old trio didn't see each other as often as they liked, but often enough. Life has a way of doing that.

After the festivities of the combined parties had taken place, Freddie had taken a few days off from work. There were a few small repairs that needed to be taken care of. Sam came home a little early, since Freddie had called her and asked her to pick up some wood putty on her way home. They greeted with a quick kiss and smiles, with Sam handing her husband the putty. Freddie nodded and went back into a spare bedroom to make the repairs. Sam went to change clothes and check the casserole that Freddie had started.

In a few minutes, Sam heard:

"Hey princess, could you come here for a moment? I need some help holding this…"

That's when a different 'it' happened…

* * *

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_**Okay, yes I know… I have THREE OTHER fic's going on, but this one invaded my brain… It HAD to happen. Woe unto you… heh heh heh**_

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It's true! Leave that review! Keep those shoes clean and HAPPY!


	2. Meddling & Mistakes

_In a few minutes, Sam heard:_

"_Hey princess, could you come here for a moment? I need some help holding this…"_

_That's when a different 'it' happened…_

**Isn't that my shirt?**

Chapter 2: Meddling & Mistakes

Carly was stunned. So was everyone else that knew them. When asked how this could have happened, both Sam and Freddie shook their heads and shrugged. Neither of them had any explanation.

It had taken nearly two weeks for the news to get out about it. The way it was discovered was just as bizarre as the events leading up to it.

Carly and Tom would be in Seattle one evening. Carly had emailed Sam and asked if she and Freddie would like to go out to dinner. Sam had emailed back asking them if they would like to come by for dinner instead, they could barbeque. Since Sam and Freddie's barbeques were famous in their group of friends, Carly and Tom immediately replied 'YES!'

When they arrived, Sam was busy in the kitchen, and then led them out to the back yard. Sam had the barbeque started and put the meat on while making small talk with her guests. After about twenty minutes Carly asked if Freddie had to work late…

"Oh no, he moved out." Sam said nonchalantly, being occupied with the grilling.

"…what did you say?" Carly asked after a stunned moment of silence.

"I said Freddie moved out, almost two weeks ago…" Sam replied not looking up from the barbeque.

Carly and Tom turned and looked at each other, speechless.

"But… why?" Carly finally asked.

"Well, we're getting divorced." Sam replied while taking the meat off the grill. "The meats ready, let's eat." Sam continued.

Carly hadn't replied, Sam took the food in the house and held the door open, waiting.

"DIVORCED! Why would you two get divorced?" Carly screeched.

Sam huffed, and put the plate of meat down on the table.

"I guess he got mad when I threw the casserole dish at him." Sam said.

"You hit him with a casserole dish?" Carly sputtered.

"Well, no. I missed. The dish went through the kitchen window. Carly, we had a big fight. I threw a dish at him, and some other stuff… we yelled and screamed at each other, he got mad and moved out that night. I haven't seen him since. We talked on the phone a couple of days after and decided maybe we should separate. Then we talked again and decided to divorce. That's it. Happens all the time…" Sam said, shrugging.

Carly sat for a moment, looking at Tom, who hadn't said a word the entire time. They were both stunned. Finally Carly asked:

"What were you fighting about?"

"Ya know… that's kinda funny… I don't know…" Sam replied thoughtfully. Then she went back to eating her hamburger.

The rest of the evening didn't get any better. Sam seemed oblivious while Carly and Tom were very uncomfortable.

After what seemed like forever and a day, their strange evening with Sam ended. As soon as Carly was back in their car, she called Freddie. His version of the breakup was exactly the same as Sam's… huge fight, things thrown, he left. When Carly asked him what started the fight, he couldn't remember either.

Immediately after hanging up with Freddie she started planning. Tom, who was driving looked at his wife and commented that he didn't like the look she had…

"You know, the best thing you can do for those two is to leave them alone…" Tom said.

"You don't know a thing about them; we're going to have them over for dinner. Then they'll see how stupid they're acting." Carly retorted.

Tom shook his head.

The dinner would be in a couple weeks. Carly had planned it out completely. Even down to making sure Freddie, who she gave an earlier arrival time to, didn't park on the street. She didn't want Sam to see his car.

The 'event' was planned for a Saturday. It was about two weeks since the horrible barbeque at Sam's.

"This is going to work." Carly told Tom.

Tom smiled back at her and wondered how long it would take him to pick up the pieces of his wife's shattered ego after this. He also had made sure anything slightly valuable and breakable was in the garage. The evening could get volatile.

Freddie came exactly at the appointed time, and dutifully parked on a side street so the 'street sweepers' could operate. Sam was nearly on time, only about five minutes late. The former couple stared at each other for a moment before Sam broke the silence and said to Freddie:

"You didn't know I would be here, huh…"

"Nope, didn't… Did you know I would be here?" Freddie asked in reply.

"Nope." Sam said.

The former couple both turned to Carly, then back toward each other.

"Sam, I'll go, you stay and visit." Freddie offered

"No, you stay. They were just over two weeks ago. Besides, I'm a little pissed at her." Sam said.

This conversation between Sam and Freddie continued for a few minutes. It was as if Carly or Tom weren't in the room.

Finally they both decided to leave, Sam first then Freddie. Tom didn't know what to think. This was very bizarre.

Carly was near tears. After Sam had left, Freddie came over and shook Tom's hand and gave Carly a hug.

"Carly, I know you meant well, but… Well… please don't try this again, okay?" Freddie said as he opened the door and left.

As Tom had predicted, Carly was a wreck.

After that, with some urging from Tom, Carly decided it would be best not to try to intervene in their problems.

Time flew by as it will, until one Friday afternoon Sam got the divorce papers in her mail. She had been in a really good mood up until she got the paperwork. All it took now was a signature, and she and Freddie would be divorced. Her good mood was slipping away fast.

The main reason for her good mood was that she had a date! This was the first guy to take any interest in her since Freddie. She wasn't sure she liked the guy like that, but at least it may be fun to have someone to hang around with. Now, that mood came crashing down around her.

She flipped open her phone, she hadn't talked to him in months… She tapped in his number and waited…

"…Sam? It's been a while, how are you?" Freddie asked when he answered.

"Good… I'm good, you?" She replied.

"I'm okay. I was thinking of calling you. I got the papers in my mail today…" He said.

"Me too… And… ah… Well I was thinking. Would you like to talk about this?" She asked.

"…yeah, yeah I would. We do need to talk. This is kind of… final… Shall I come by?" He replied.

"Yeah, let's have lunch tomorrow. Pick us up some sandwiches." She said.

"Good, noon tomorrow then with sandwiches, and you know… I think we can fix this…" He said apprehensively.

Sam smiled to herself for a moment, and then said: "Yeah, we can…"

They hung up.

Sam's mood shot straight through the roof, until she remembered she had a date in a little over an hour. She needed to call this guy, John and cancel. She had met him at a inter government agency luncheon last week. He worked for the Forest Service.

Damn!

She didn't have his number! They had exchanged business cards, but all that was on his card was his work number. He had her phone number, but they had set up the date at the luncheon. They hadn't ever talked on the phone.

Then she thought that it might be fun to go out with a stranger… just this once. It sure looked like she and Freddie would be back together after tomorrow… what could it hurt?

She looked at her watch; she had time, but decided not to get all dressed up for the guy. This wasn't really a date. So why bother… Then she decided that she had better not. If things were reversed, she would be pissed. She flipped on the TV.

John arrived, and looked a bit disappointed. They were meant to go dancing and Sam was wearing Levi's and a flannel shirt, her work clothes. Sam explained it all to him. John nodded, told her he was happy for them, and turned to leave. Then turned back and said:

"Well, how about a movie then? Just as buddies? '1001 Murders' is playing. Want to?"

Sam thought for a moment and decided, why not! Freddie hated those kinds of flicks anyway…

As they walked into the theatre, Sam noticed that a new 'Galaxy Wars' movie was starting that night. There was quite a crowd lined up to see it. She mentioned to John that Freddie loved the series… she'd have to take him tomorrow night or Sunday. John nodded, smiled, and bought the tickets.

Sam had a great time watching the gory movie. The only down side to the whole thing was it wasn't Freddie she was with…

'Well, that will be fixed tomorrow.' She thought.

After the movie, John dropped her off at her house and drove away. Inside, she noticed a manila folder on the kitchen table with an ink pen clipped to it. She unclipped the pen and opened the folder, there was a note.

* * *

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	3. No Tell Hotel

_After the movie, John dropped her off at her house and drove away. Inside, she noticed a manila folder on the kitchen table with an ink pen clipped to it. She unclipped the pen and opened the folder, there was a note._

**Isn't that my shirt?**

Chapter 3: No Tell Hotel

The note read;

'_I went to go see the new Galaxy Wars movie tonight, by myself. You'll never guess who I saw… Not by herself. Attached are your copies of the divorce decree. I signed them. Also, find attached an ink pen so you can sign yours. We're done. Freddie'_

Sam was really hurt and mad... at herself. She needed to explain this to Freddie, and apologize. She knew what this looked like, but was sure this mess could be fixed. She tried calling: He wouldn't pick up. Although she was tired, she drove over to his apartment. This wasn't something that could be left for morning. She wanted him to understand that. She wanted him to understand just how important he was to her, and how insignificant her evening was. It was just a movie… that's all, nothing else.

The apartment was dark. His car was not there. He wasn't home.

Damn!

She decided to wait for him. She woke up in the morning stiff and sore. She had fallen asleep in the front seat of her car.

What the hell! Where is he?

His mother would know. His mother had moved out of the Bushwell building soon after Freddie and Sam were married. She had found a small place in Kirkland she was able to purchase. Sam didn't know her phone number, but it was only a half hour or so drive. She arrived expecting to see Freddie's car. She didn't.

It was still pretty early, but she didn't care. She knocked. Soon, Mrs. Benson answered, she didn't look pleased to see her, yet invited Sam in. She told Sam that Freddie had said she might come here, looking for him. Mrs. Benson explained that Freddie had told her about what had happened, and that Freddie had gone camping to get away from everything.

Sam nodded, thanked her soon to be ex mother in law and left.

She began to get angry while driving home. The closer she got to her house, the madder she became. By the time she reached home, she had convinced herself that she didn't want the jackass back anyway. She was better off without him.

She signed her portion of the divorce papers and mailed them in Monday morning. In about a week, it was all over. She and Freddie were divorced.

Days, weeks, months… time trundled on. Neither Sam nor Freddie had seen or run into one another for about six months. Until…

Sam and Freddie had both fallen in lust with Tat's Delicatessen in Pioneer Square while they were still in High School. Now, Freddie's office was nearby. He used to stop and get deli sandwiches and take them to wherever Sam was working when they were together. Sam missed those lunches, but _really_ missed the sandwiches. She was in the neighborhood, so she went there for lunch. About half way through her foot long Tat'strami sub, someone put their hand on her shoulder, and then sat across from her at the tiny table. It was Freddie.

Sam was choosing her words to rip him a new one when he held up his hands and meekly asked:

"Truce?"

Sam glared at him for a moment, and then nodded her head. "What?" She asked.

Freddie explained that he had left his jacket at work, and walked the few blocks here since it was so nice out. But, his wallet was in his jacket…

"So… can I borrow twenty bucks? I'll pay you back." He asked.

Sam actually grinned at his misfortune. If this wasn't roll reversal, well… nothing was.

Freddie smiled back, he realized the same thing.

"Well, I guess I can spare it." Sam said while digging into her pocket and handing him a very rumpled twenty dollar bill. "You don't have to pay me back." She continued.

Freddie stood, took the twenty and thanked her. Sam told him to hurry, and she'd save the table. Freddie went to the counter and made his order. After a few minutes, he returned to the table and noticed Sam had finished. She stood, gathered her things, and turned to tell her ex husband goodbye. Before she could get a word out, he put his arms around her and gave her a massive hug.

The hug continued until someone behind them cleared their throat, wanting to get by. They released each other, smiled and Sam left. Outside, after getting in her car, she wondered what that was all about. She also surprised herself; she liked it. She liked it a lot.

Six weeks later, on a Sunday afternoon, Sam answered a knock on her door. It was a harried looking Carly. After their greetings and a moment or two of small talk, Carly began to study her shoes… Sam asked her what was bothering her.

Carly explained that Tom's thirtieth birthday was in three weeks. They had made plans to have a dinner with close friends and then go 'clubbing' afterward.

"Look, long story short. We went to dinner last weekend here in Seattle. We ran into Freddie at the restaurant… on a date. He was out with a woman named Millicent. We really want to invite you and Freddie, but…" Carly tailed off the end of her statement.

"So, the nubster has a girlfriend, huh? It's okay Carly. I've been going out with a guy myself… nothing serious, but sure. I'd love to go, and I promise not to get mad. I mean really, we're divorced. This was bound to happen. I'll bring Brad along. It'll be fun." Sam said.

Carly looked very relieved. "Well, I'm not sure this Millicent is his girlfriend. He introduced her as his 'friend', so…"

"Look Carly, it's okay, really! Don't worry, I'll be good, and I'm sure Freddie will be fine. Now, tell me what this Millicent looks like. I'm sure she's a hag…" Sam said.

Carly and Sam visited (gossiped) the afternoon away.

This time it wasn't Carly who was nervous, it was Tom. He wasn't aware that Carly had invited them both… and their dates, until after she had already done it. He didn't say anything to his wife, but he was concerned, none the less.

The night of his birthday arrived and the group met at the first night spot on the list Carly had sent to all those invited. Tom was relieved to say the least. Their divorced friends seemed to be managing fine. Each had their respective dates… Sam's Brad and Freddie's Millie, and the four seemed to be having a good time. Albeit across the room from each other, but they seemed to be handling it well.

Just a little shy of eleven that night, Sam noticed that Millie was dancing with Tom. Carly had just left Freddie's table, heading toward the lady's room. Brad tapped Sam on the shoulder and excused himself from their table. Sam watched Brad as he dodged the dancers while making his way through the crowd toward the men's room. She glanced back toward Freddie's table and noticed he was alone. She had an idea…

She got up, walked around the edge of the dance floor and took the vacant seat next to Freddie, surprising him.

"So… Millicent looks like quite the gal. She's very pretty." Sam said.

Freddie nodded and made a comment about how nice a fellow Brad seemed to be. Sam nodded.

"So is he?" Freddie asked.

"Is he…?" Sam replied.

"A nice guy, is Brad a nice guy?" Freddie explained.

"Sure, he's a wonderful guy… just wonderful, really." Sam replied.

Freddie smiled and nodded.

"So is she nice?" Sam asked.

"Sure, sure… she's great. Just fine…" Freddie said.

Sam nodded. "You know Freddie…"

"Know what, Sam?"

"Brad is one of the stupidest asses I've ever met. He's a real pain." Sam said flatly.

"Really?" Freddie grinned. "Well, Millie must take classes on advanced stupidity. I'm also sure she teaches classes on how to be a bitch. No one could possibly be as insipid as Millicent without training." Freddie continued.

"Brad is so bitchy… I'll bet their taking classes from each other!" Sam replied grinning.

They both laughed. Sam got up, as if to leave. Freddie began to tell her goodbye, but she stepped over behind him, leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"What!" Freddie replied.

She leaned over him again, and whispered once more in his ear.

"Sam, we're divorced…" Freddie stammered.

"Yeah, so…" Sam said.

"How did you get here?" Freddie asked.

"Brad's car… you?" Sam said.

"Millie picked me up." Freddie said.

They both shared knowing smiles.

"Outside, two minutes. We'll get a cab." Freddie said while getting up.

About ninety seconds later, they were getting into the back seat of a cab.

"Brad's going looking at my place…" Sam said.

"Yep, and Millie will go to my apartment first thing." Freddie said.

They both turned to each other and simultaneously said: "Hotel!"

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**The fellows name was Grady**

**His girlfriend was no lady**

**He'd give her some clues**

**She'd kick off her shoes**

**And review his work**

**Down there!**


	4. Maybe we could do this again…

**I would like to wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year! :pig~**

* * *

"_Brad's going looking at my place…" Sam said._

"_Yep, and Millie will go to my apartment first thing." Freddie said._

_They both turned to each other and simultaneously said: "Hotel!"_

**Isn't that my shirt?**

Chapter 4: Maybe we could do this again…

Sam and Freddie smiled at one another… it was a wicked, full toothy smile. The cab driver was a bit taken aback when he turned to ask where they wanted to go and saw 'the smile' passing between his fares.

"Um… ah… where to folks?" He asked.

"The Emerald Hotel." Freddie responded without breaking eye contact with Sam.

If it was possible, the cab driver noticed the blonde woman's smile grew wider at the response her friend gave. The driver shook his head, thinking 'it takes all kinds…' and mumbled "Okee dokee, The Emerald… nice place, that."

About half way there the driver lost sight of the couple in the back seat of the cab. He hesitantly glanced back and noticed the blonde gal had the dark headed guy under her, doing 'things' that normally didn't happen in the back seat of his cab. They both still had their clothes on, but if the ride were longer, that could change he thought. He turned back around thinking about how long it would take the doorman to oust these two love birds… '…no luggage…' he thought to himself. 'That will last about five seconds at the Emerald.' He chuckled under his breath. 'This will be a helluva show.'

Pulling up to the front of the hotel, the cabby's fares slid out on the passenger side. The cabby rolled down the right front window and said "Seventeen even" The dark haired guy gave the cabby a twenty and told the driver to keep the change. The cab driver nodded his thanks and sat back ready to see the show. He was sure he'd be taking these folks to another hotel that didn't care about the propriety of 'luggage'.

'Will wonders never cease?' The cab driver thought. He had just seen the doorman's face light up like it was old home week when he noticed the couple. The doorman said something the driver couldn't quite hear, and then rushed over to open the door for the pair. Just at the door, the dark haired guy reached over, grabbed the blonde's ass and gave her a squeeze! The gal shrieked and started to giggle and laugh. The cabby knew that normally, the doorman would toss anyone doing stuff like that out of this stuck up joint… but not these two. The doorman started laughing like crazy while shaking his head.

"Ho-ly smokes…" the cabby said out loud.

Tom's party had been Saturday night. Sam and Freddie had called in sick to work both Monday and Tuesday. They were standing in front of the hotel that Tuesday evening, waiting for the cabs to get there to take them to their respective homes. Sam took her cell phone out of her pocket and stared at it. It was off… Freddie had mentioned they had better turn them off just after they arrived at the hotel Saturday night. He noticed her staring at the device, and took his out of his pocket.

"You know, Brad is going to be pissed…" Freddie mentioned.

"Eh… don't care, really. I'm sick of him. Millie is going to be even worse. She seemed clingy." Sam replied.

Freddie nodded and said he didn't really care what Millie thought, he would dump her anyway; if she hadn't already dumped him.

Sam smiled, nodded, and noticed the two cabs that had just pulled up in front of the building. She put her arms around his neck, pulled him slightly down and gave him a long, lusty kiss. Stepping slightly back, but still holding him, she whispered:

"Maybe we could do this again…"

Freddie smiled and whispered "Yeah, I think maybe we should …"

Sam turned and walked to the cab. Getting in, she looked out the window, back at Freddie. He was thinking, she could tell. He was making his 'thinking face'. Suddenly, he smiled and gave her a quick little wave. She continued to stare as the cab drove her away, her stare turning into a wistful smile.

Over the next few weeks they had both stared at their cell phones for some time. Both had tapped in the others number multiple times. And then both had balked at pressing the final button that would make the call.

It was a Saturday night. Freddie was sitting in his apartment, alone. Most of the lights were off. The TV was off, the radio was off… even his computer was hibernating… Freddie was staring at the walls, thinking… about Sam. He finally pushed that call button after entering her number. She had answered on the second ring. She sounded odd… glad that he called, but apprehensive, distant. Small talk and friendly banter for a moment, until:

"So, what are you doing tonight?" He asked.

Silence.

"Sam, are you there?"

Silence.

"Sam?" He said again just before checking the tiny screen to see if they were still connected. He heard a reply come from the phone, but couldn't make out what she had said. He put the phone back up to his ear.

"Say that again, please. I was checking our connection." He said.

"I said I have a date, Freddie."

"Oh…" He said.

Silence.

"Well, I just wanted to find out how you were doing. Have fun on your date Sam… Bye."

Disconnect.

Sam was sitting at the kitchen table. She stared at the phone for a moment, flipped it closed, and set it gently on the table top.

"DAMNIT!" She yelled at the ceiling.

Freddie was still sitting in his now totally twilight front room. He'd decided he was hungry a couple hours ago, and put some microwave dinner thing in the microwave. It was still beeping, telling him it was finished. It had been doing that every ten seconds for the last hour and forty seven minutes. He just didn't care. Soon it was full on night, nearly pitch black in his apartment. He could only make out outlines of his room. Then he noticed his cell phone screen glowing. It was so dark in the room that it seemed to light the whole area. Then the phone began ringing, a generic ring tone. He decided to ignore it, and then noticed the name that came up on the tiny screen. 'S Benson' glowed in tiny letters. The phone was a wonder to him; he picked it up, without answering, and read the screen again. 'S Benson' flashed on and off alternating with the ring tone. In the upper right corner, the time read 20:47.

"But… she's on a date…" he said out loud.

The phone continued ringing… He pressed the button and held the device up to his ear; "hello…"

"Freddie, where the hell have you been?" Sam half whispered.

"Why do you sound like you're in a tunnel, Sam?" Was his retort.

"Because I'm in the ladies room… Look, don't ask questions; just do what I tell you… Okay?"

"Um, okay… what?" He asked.

"You remember 'JaK's Grill' on California, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, West Seattle… why?" He replied.

"How soon can you get here?" She asked.

"Fifteen, maybe twenty… why?" Was his querulous answer.

"Just get here, and follow my lead." She said and hung up.

Freddie stared at his phone for a moment, shrugged, got up from the couch, grabbed his coat and left. Sixteen minutes later he walked in to the dining area. Sam stood up and waved. Sam's gesture obviously surprised her date. Freddie ambled over and took the seat at their table that Sam had indicated.

Sam began by making introductions:

"Freddie, this is Jerry. Jerry, this is my ex husband, Freddie."

Jerry looked very relieved at the 'ex husband' mention. He nodded toward Freddie and Freddie nodded back. Looking at the table, Freddie realized that they were nearly finished with their dinner. He looked back at Sam, confused.

"Jerry, first I want to thank you for dinner. I've been here before and I knew how good the food was." Sam stated in a matter of fact fashion. She continued: "Now, you do realize the reason I went out with you is because you had bugged me about going out for the last five or six months… Well now we have, and I want to give you some advice."

Jerry looked up at her as if he had borrowed the confused expression from Freddie. Sam continued: "The next time you take a woman out, try to keep from talking to and staring at her boobs the entire time. A woman's face is up here, above the neckline."

Freddie looked over at Jerry for his reaction. Jerry looked surprised to say the least. But he looked even more so when, while standing and pulling Freddie up, Sam said:

"Now, I need a good, sound fucking. Freddie here is just the man to take care of that. Thanks again for dinner, and goodnight."

She walked away from the table, pulling Freddie behind her.

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	5. Blue Cornflowers and Pocket knives

"_Now, I need a good, sound fucking. Freddie here is just the man to take care of that. Thanks again for dinner, and goodnight." _

_She walked away from the table, pulling Freddie behind her._

* * *

**Isn't that my shirt?**

Chapter 5: Blue Cornflowers and Pocket knives.

Outside the restaurant, Sam continued pulling Freddie along behind her. His hand clasped in her vice like grip. She began looking about for his car, allowing Freddie to finally catch up:

"Sam… Sam, hold on… jeez… my car is in the shop. They gave me that blue van over there as a loaner."

"A mini van? Good Lord Freddie, how lame can you get? A frikken mini van…"

"Hey, it's full of gas and it's free. Do you want a ride home or shall we wait for Jerry and give him another shot?" Freddie asked peevishly.

Sam glared at him.

"Okay, sorry… that was a cheap shot. I apologize, Sam. Just… just get in." He said while opening the passenger door.

The first few minutes of the drive was barely masked silent tension. Eventually, Freddie looked over to Sam:

"Look, I said I'm sorry, okay?"

Sam shook her head. "I know… it's alright. I guess I kinda had that coming, in a weird sort of 'Benson Logic' way… But it is your fault, damn it! I never would have gone out with that creep if it hadn't been for you screwing up… again!"

"My fault? How the hell is it that you going on a date ends up being my fault?" Freddie asked in exasperation.

"Did you call? Did you ever call me?" Sam nearly whispered.

"Yeah, just tonight…" Freddie started.

"Okay, but how about before that? Why didn't you call? Why did it take you for fucking ever to call me?"

"Sam… that is just so fucking 20th C… Why didn't you call me?"

Silence.

Freddie continued driving while glancing over at his ex wife every so often. She sat rigidly, staring straight ahead. Pulling off the freeway at the next off ramp, Sam finally broke her forward stare and asked:

"Where are we, why did you get off the freeway?"

"Just hold on…" Freddie replied.

After a few minutes, he pulled the van over and parked in front of a random house, and shut off the engine.

"Where are we? Why did you park?" Sam asked looking out at the strange neighborhood.

"I really have no idea. Somewhere in the Queen Anne district I think. It doesn't matter. This clunky van is Switzerland… you know, neutral ground. We need to talk." He said removing his seat belt and turning in his seat to face her.

Sam nodded; "Yeah, okay." As she unbuckled her seat belt, and turned to face him.

"Okay, first tell me what the heck this 'I need a sound fucking' thing was. Although I must admit, the look on Jerry's was priceless." Freddie said.

Sam shrugged; "I wanted to shock the jackass… He spent the entire evening staring at my tits."

"Well, you did manage to do that I guess… although I've been known to do the same thing, you know… stare at your boobs. And, I kind of resent being made into your dildo."

"Yeah, well we were married. Staring at my boobs was okay for you, then. But not for some creep. And no, I didn't mean it like you're some tool or something. You know what I meant." Sam replied.

Freddie nodded.

"So, now what? Here we are in Switzerland. What did you want to say?" She asked.

"So why is it my fault that you had a date tonight?" Freddie asked.

"You didn't call. This guy has been bugging me to go out since before we split up. I've been mad at you for a couple of weeks because of the 'no calls' thing; he asked me to go out again. So I said okay. Yeah that was a mistake. He's a real jerk, but it's fixed now... and thanks for coming, by the way."

"So that makes it my fault?" He asked.

"Yep." She said.

Freddie shook his head.

"So why are you so worked up about this anyway? Why do you care? If you would have taken the time to call, I might agree with your being upset. But you didn't call… so?"

Freddie pondered for a moment. Sam could tell, she knew the 'looks' of Freddie Benson. The look he had now was 'ponder' and sort information. She waited…

"Alright, I was nervous, okay… Look… the hotel was great and everything. I enjoyed every moment, but we didn't talk… about much of anything. We had lots of 'activity' but no talking. I didn't know what you had in mind. I didn't know if this was just some 'hook up' with the ex, or what. I don't know how many times I started to call you, I just didn't. Why didn't you call me?" Freddie said.

"Same reasons really. So… what did you want the hotel to be? Was it a hook up or something else?" Sam asked.

"Something else." Freddie replied quickly.

"Really… well, that puts a new spin on stuff then. And just when were you planning on telling me?" Sam asked.

"Well, what did you want it to be, Sam?"

"Are you seeing anyone? Do you have any dates planned?" Sam asked.

"No… but that doesn't answer my question. What did you want to do about us?" Freddie asked.

"Well, I have a date for next Friday, but I'll cancel it. You'll be taking me out instead. We're going to date for a while… a few months I guess. But that's it, date. You're not moving back in until we see if things are going to work…" Sam said.

"…yeah and we need to come to grips with what happened also. We've never talked about it…" Freddie interrupted.

"Okay… so why did you get so pissed off?" Sam asked.

"The casserole dish. You broke my grandmother's casserole dish when you threw it at me. You know how my mom cooks. The only decent meals I got when I was a kid were when we ate at grandmas. That stupid casserole dish is wrapped up in a lot of fond memories I have. That's it… that's kinda stupid I guess, but it isn't to me." Freddie replied.

Sam nodded.

"And you? What pissed you off so much that you started throwing stuff?" Freddie asked.

"You were using my dad's pocket knife to spread that wood putty… that knife is one of the few things I have of my father's. Kind of like your grandmother's casserole dish I guess…" Sam said.

Freddie was grimacing. Sam thought of saying something, but she was glad he felt bad about the knife. Freddie suddenly nodded, turned in his seat and put his seat belt back on.

"What? Are we done talking already?" Sam asked.

"No, but I have to show you something… just hold on." Freddie replied.

He turned the van around and got back on the freeway. In a short while, he pulled into the driveway of what had been 'their' house. Instead of going to the front door, he took Sam's hand and led her around to the detached garage. He opened the door and turned on the light. He still had most of his tools here for some odd reason. He had no storage for this stuff at his apartment, but it could have easily been moved to his mother's house. He opened a cabinet above a large sink. The cabinet contained mostly cleaning materials and a few yard chemicals. Sam had been getting stuff out of the cabinet for some time and thought she knew everything that was in it... until he pulled out a small cardboard box. He opened the box, took out some bubble wrap and handed her a small item wrapped in cotton.

She opened the cotton bundle; it was her father's knife.

"I _was_ using an old pocket knife to spread the putty. Remember when we bought all that kitchen stuff at a yard sale? Well, the pocket knife I was using was in the bottom of the box. This is your dad's knife. I know how you felt about his knife; I never would have used it. That's why I cleaned and oiled you dad's old knife. I was going to surprise you with it, all cleaned up and shiny." Freddie said.

Sam looked at the knife for a moment, and then looked back up at Freddie.

"You want to watch some TV?" Sam asked.

"Uh… okay, sure… I guess… what's on?" Freddie stammered.

Sam shook her head: "Who cares." She smiled.

Freddie smiled back: "Yeah, who cares…" He said.

After about an hour of television, and fighting about what to watch, Sam got up, telling Freddie she'd be right back. About ten minutes later, she came back into the front room only wearing an old, long sleeve button up flannel shirt. It was obviously a man's shirt, and much too large for her. She only had the bottom two buttons fastened, and nothing else on underneath. Freddie stared at her for a bit, not really noticing the shirt, until he suddenly asked:

"Isn't that my shirt?"

"Well, what if it is…" She replied as she sat in his lap.

Freddie… smiled.

Three months later…

"…so that's it Carl's. He pretty much moved back in that night. Then we got remarried about a month ago." Sam had just finished telling Carly about the entire thing, the fight, the divorce… everything.

They were both standing at the kitchen counter cutting up some vegetables for a salad. Tom and Freddie were outside barbequing.

"Your dad's pocket knife and his grandmother's casserole dish… crazy… That must be one great casserole dish though, to survive being thrown through a window. What kind is it, anyway?" Carly asked.

Sam smiled at her; "It's Corningware, the Blue Cornflower pattern from the sixties. That's it there, over by the oven. Well, kinda it…" She replied.

"Kinda?" Carly asked.

Sam took the knife Carly was using out of her hand and set it down.

"C'mere…" Sam said leading Carly down the hallway.

In the master bedroom, Sam looked out the window to make sure Freddie was still outside with Tom. She walked back over to the foot of the bed and opened a large cedar chest. She looked at Carly;

"You can never tell…" She said to Carly.

Removing a number of linen items, she invited Carly to look in the bottom of the chest. There were six Blue Cornflower Corningware casserole dishes at the bottom.

"It didn't, when it went through the window it broke into a million pieces. Freddie doesn't know. I never told him, but thank heavens for the internet. Now, I have a few spares…" Sam grinned.

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'Isn't That My Shirt'

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